I'm a firm believer of taking a Sabbath rest....and not just a sun up to sun-down, holy journey where I sit in a dark room, fasting and praying. But a day of rest that is devoted to time with God and time rejuvenating my soul from all the obligation that the regular work-week presses in on. I leave work alone, I try to step away from the computer a bit (because I usually get tempted to work...yes, my name is Danika and I'm a workaholic), and I enjoy the outdoors, creation, maybe some time with friends. But I try to leave guilt, obligation and work out of the picture on my sabbath. It's a time to be me as God created me to be, to enjoy him and to REST.
So, last week and this week I've had to take my sabbath in the middle of the week because I've had teachings every weekend. The nice thing (and the agonizing thing for someone a bit extroverted) is everyone else is working these days so I have to make sure to have good boundaries and find things to do that I can do alone.
The last few weeks I've started reading some classic literature again. I know some of you may sigh or roll your eyes and think "what a nerd" to yourselves. And that's fine. I'm embracing my nerdiness as I grow older where I tried to hide it for so many years when I was younger.
I love the classics. I love the "meatiness" of the written word in many forms of literature. I love Greek tragedies, I love reading a line of poetry and feeling like you could roll it around in your mind for another 20 minutes and still continue to discover its meaning. I love that it takes time. And I love that much of our Western Literature has helped formed our Western worldview and yet we are blissfully unaware of it, until we read where it first began.
So, I've begun to read the Iliad and admittedly, I've had to look to Google for a quick refresher on the Trojan war and to figure out all the different names of the characters and who is human, who is a god, who is a child of a god or a nymph. Believe it or not, I've enjoyed that process and taken abundant notes. Yep. I truly am a nerd.
Then I came across this little gem: 10 Essential Classics in Western Literature. This is a recommendation of a booklist that every person should read as these are foundations of the western worldview. I have to admit, it's tempting to read through all of these. Though, I'm only 1/4 of the way through the Iliad so this could take some time.
What are you reading these days? I have to admit, it's easier to pick up The Hunger Games than to pick up some great classic literature, simply for readability and disconnecting the mind, but when is the last time you challenged your brain and your soul just a little bit?
So, last week and this week I've had to take my sabbath in the middle of the week because I've had teachings every weekend. The nice thing (and the agonizing thing for someone a bit extroverted) is everyone else is working these days so I have to make sure to have good boundaries and find things to do that I can do alone.
The last few weeks I've started reading some classic literature again. I know some of you may sigh or roll your eyes and think "what a nerd" to yourselves. And that's fine. I'm embracing my nerdiness as I grow older where I tried to hide it for so many years when I was younger.
I love the classics. I love the "meatiness" of the written word in many forms of literature. I love Greek tragedies, I love reading a line of poetry and feeling like you could roll it around in your mind for another 20 minutes and still continue to discover its meaning. I love that it takes time. And I love that much of our Western Literature has helped formed our Western worldview and yet we are blissfully unaware of it, until we read where it first began.
So, I've begun to read the Iliad and admittedly, I've had to look to Google for a quick refresher on the Trojan war and to figure out all the different names of the characters and who is human, who is a god, who is a child of a god or a nymph. Believe it or not, I've enjoyed that process and taken abundant notes. Yep. I truly am a nerd.
Then I came across this little gem: 10 Essential Classics in Western Literature. This is a recommendation of a booklist that every person should read as these are foundations of the western worldview. I have to admit, it's tempting to read through all of these. Though, I'm only 1/4 of the way through the Iliad so this could take some time.
What are you reading these days? I have to admit, it's easier to pick up The Hunger Games than to pick up some great classic literature, simply for readability and disconnecting the mind, but when is the last time you challenged your brain and your soul just a little bit?
No comments:
Post a Comment